Candyman (2021)

Summary

“Everywhere’s haunted.”

A couple years ago Shout! Factory released a wonderful collector’s edition of the 1992 horror film Candyman. Film collectors like myself had waited for over a decade since adopting the Blu-ray format for the film to be made available in HD, but the wait was worth it. Despite my love of horror films and despite having read a decent amount of Clive Barker novels and short stories, I had held off watching the film until I could view it on Blu-ray. I was extremely impressed by the film and it ranks as one of my favorite horror films from the Nineties. I was taken aback by just how artfully done the film was. The script by director Bernard Rose had managed to adapt a small story from Clive Barker’s Books of Blood – “The Forbidden” – into a much more complex horror film that also pointed its attention towards the impoverished Cabrini-Green projects in Chicago. It is an adaptation that Clive Barker has publicly given approval, and I would say it is the rare adaptation that actually bests the original material. Jordan Peele was obviously a fan of the picture, because his screenplay that he wrote with Nia DaCosta and Win Rosenfeld is not a remake or reboot, but instead a direct sequel to that film. I sat down the other night to finally watch the film (which my wife purchased me for Christmas) and I was impressed at what the filmmakers had accomplished.

Cabrini-Green – 1977

A young man leaves to do some laundry. In a project building he passes by a hole in a wall and a man throws out a piece of candy. Turning around, the man walks out of the wall towards him. He has a hook where his hand should be.

Cabrini-Green 2019

A gay couple, Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) and Grady (Kyle Kaminsky,) heads to the apartment of Troy’s sister Brianna (Teyonah Parris) and her up-and-coming artist boyfriend Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.) They live where the Cabrini-Green projects used to be. The area was haunted, but now it is gentrified. The remnants of the projects are for the most part long gone, with only a few small abandoned stretches left. That night, Troy tells the scary story to Anthony and Brianna about the researcher Helen who burned to death in the middle of Cabrini-Green after a killing spree. With his back up against the wall to come up with relevant art ideas, Anthony decides to do some pieces related to Cabrini-Green. This sends him down a rabbit hole of research into that history and soon enough into the history of the Candyman urban legend. When he encounters a man in a neighborhood laundry near Cabrini-Green who knows more about Candyman’s history, William Burke (Colman Domingo,) Anthony pushes further into his research. As his art pieces begin to focus on the Candyman mythos, the vengeful spirit is once again summoned through people repeating his name five times in front of a mirror. Anthony soon finds his artwork drawing attention due to the violent deaths associated with one of his art pieces.

I was cautiously optimistic when I heard that Jordan Peele would be producing a new Candyman film. Peele impressed myself (and the whole film watching world from what I can tell) with Get Out. His next film US was an interesting and divisive picture. I enjoyed the film despite some aspects of the screenplay that I felt weren’t completely fleshed out. I could understand the criticisms of the picture, but I admired its original spirit and his willingness to take risks. Candyman is a script that Peele wrote with producer Win Rosenfeld and director Nia DaCosta. I was impressed by how their screenplay expanded upon the material from Bernard Rose’s film. They turned the story on its head by making the Candyman of this film a victim of police miscalculation, killed for a crime he had never done involving razor blades in candies for children, all while keeping the original story of the first film intact. It’s great. The script works. It allows the audience the frightening and visceral killings they would want to see in a Candyman picture while also skewering the art world, commenting on gentrification (in a cheeky way,) and making a statement about police violence. Candy bars with razorblades, mirrors with a deadly figure, – the film feasts on urban legends in the same way that the first film mined urban sprawl and poverty. The filmmakers frame their ethos of Candyman as a response to the racial violence that has happened and is still happening. The filmmakers use the film to make a statement, which means some people will dislike the film for being “woke,” but I found the film clever in how it approached those topics and wove everything into a cohesive and, most importantly, entertaining horror film. The film strikes the right balance of dark humor in the same way that Jordan Peele’s prior two films found humor even during some pretty frightening moments. The script of the film achieves solid pacing with a runtime of just an hour and a half, and the finale is extremely satisfying.

The cinematography in the film by John Gulesarian is strong. At times the camera placements are really interesting. Chicago’s architecture lends itself towards wonderful photography and this film doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Nia DaCosta and Gulesarian chose to shoot most of the tall buildings in a haze of fog – sometimes filming them from below as they disappear into the fog. The effect is eerie, disorienting, and unique. I am not often surprised by camera angles, but these strange viewpoints of Chicago’s skyscrapers really struck me as original. DaCosta has proven herself to be a visually capable director with Candyman. She also drew strong performances from her cast. The standout performance in the film is from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. He is fantastic in the role of Anthony. He alternates between numerous moods as the character, but he also injects the right amount of dark humor into his performance. I can’t think of any moment in the film where his performance faltered. I am excited to see what he did in the role of Morpheus in the new Matrix film, which I have not yet gotten around to seeing. Colman Domingo is well cast in the role of William Burke, demonstrating his scene-stealing chops in the latter part of the film. Teyonah Parris is also perfectly cast in the role of the worried romantic interest Brianna.

Overall – Candyman is one of the best horror films I have seen in the last year. Fans of the original Candyman film should be impressed by this sequel.

Video

Candyman bursts out of some mirrors and onto 4K UHD in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The film was shot with an Arri Alexa LF 4K camera, and the mastering of the film was performed in 4K. This means that the 4K representation on the UHD is as perfect representation of the theatrical experience as possible with given technology.  It looks fantastic and easily beats the great looking Blu-ray presentation. Whether you buy the UHD or Blu-ray copy of the film, there is a lot to enjoy visually, but I would opt for the 4K UHD presentation if you have the ability to do so. The cinematography by John Gulesarian is very well crafted and at times as striking as an art house picture. I love the camera angles that Nia DaCosta and Gulesarian chose for the picture. The HDR10 and Dolby Vision applied to the master bring out a better saturation level in the colors and fine details. Considering that much of the film takes place in dark areas, the UHD delivers a better experience with its better saturation levels. For fans of the film, this is a perfect way to experience it.

Audio

The Dolby Atmos track is fantastic. The music by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe fits the film really well. Clarity is excellent and the movie is good and loud with strong LFE presence. The ambient effects and numerous sound effects in the action sequences sound great. Universal Pictures have provided a truly wonderful track.

Supplements:

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Say My Name
• Body Horror
• The Filmmaker’s Eye: Nia DaCosta
• Painting Chaos
• The Art of Robert Aiki Aubrey Low
• Terror in the Shadows 
• Candyman: The Impact of Black Horror

Overall Scores:

Video: 5/5

Audio: 5/5

Supplements: 3.5/5

Overall – 4.75/5

Candyman is easily one of the best horror films released in the last few years. I am still catching up on viewing some other horror films from last year (such as Censor and Antlers,) but so far Candyman is my favorite horror release from 2021. The screenwriters understood how to take the best elements of the 1992 classic and make it fresh and exciting for a true sequel. The acting in the film is great, and the picture is beautifully shot. I am excited to see the future projects from director (and co-screenwriter) Nia DaCosta. The Universal Pictures 4K UHD release looks and sounds fantastic. The supplements are well appointed. This release comes very highly recommended!